Method of treating fibrous material



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 21.729 METHOD or rename. ruinous MATERIAL v Walther Schrauth, deceased, late of Berlin- Dahlem, Germany, by Gunther von Berg,

executor, Berlin, Germany; said Schrauth assignor, by mesne assignments, to American Hyalsol Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Original .No. 2,141,845, dated December 27, 1938, Serial No. 82,917, June 1, 1936. Application for reissue November 29, 1939, Serial No. 306,715. In Germany July 27, 1928 Claims.

acid. There'are, however, cases in which it will v not sufiice for the fibres readily to absorb the 15 agents used, but it is desirable that after the operations on the fibrous material the agents should be readily removable from the fibre either partially or entirely as utility may require. In addition to these properties, it is desirable that the agents used should meet several other requirements. They should not injure the fabric or otherwise affect it objectionably, as, for example, by making it tacky or otherwise giving it an unpleasant feel. It is further important that the agents used, especially if they are to be left in the fibre either permanently or for a considerable time, should be non-odorous and as far as possible) neutral and not subject to decomposition under the action of light and air. They must be as stable as possible and have no corroding effect a on machinery and appliances with which the material comes in contact during the processes of manufacture. I Q 7 Greasing agentsheretofore used have been only partly satisfactory. Waxes and hydrocarbons are diflicultvto remove from the fibre. The fatty acids are not always neutral to the fibre and above all they have a. highly corrosive effect on working appliances. The heavy metal salts of the fatty acids penetrate the fibre and can be removed only with great difiiculty. .Fats and oils are decomposed by'the action of light and air and turn rancid and the resultant fatty acids fibres and fabrics of wool, cotton, natural and act upon the metal parts of working appliances.

artificial silk in preparing the same for various operations, such as spinning, winding, softening, sizing, brightening, dyeing, etc. It has been proposed heretofore to apply some of these alcohols by first dissolving them in organic solvents 5 such as carbon-tetra-chloride, pyridine, benzene, and the like.

It has now been discovered, in accordance with the present invention, that several advantages in the use of the aforesaid alcohols are obtained if sulfonates of the same or related alcohols are combined therewith. The presence of the sulfonates makes it possible to form'emulsions of the alcohols in water. The necessity for using the solvents heretofore used is thus eliminated in a particularly satisfactory manner in that the sulfonates themselves have a desirable effect upon the fibre. f

The sulfonates possess an excellent wetting out and dispersing power. Owing to this they promote in mixture with the alcohols the penetrating effect of the alcohols in the fibre. In this manner they impart to the fibre a most stable smoothness On the other hand regarding the emulsifyin properties of the sulfonates the mixtures of the alcohols and the sulfonates can be removed, if necessary, more easily by means of water.

The aforesaid alcohols are perfectly neutral and non-odorous and they have no detrimental effect whatever on the fibre and on the working appliances. Moreover they are absolutely stable to the action of light and air.

When used for greasing, the alcohols mentioned have also the property of imparting to the fibre great suppleness, insensitiveness to water and resistance to deleterious chemical action, since' they are highly resistant to the action of chemical agents.

Any of the fatty alcohols, that is to say the primary aliphatic saturatedand unsaturated alcohols having 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule may be used but the most satisfactory are those having 12 to 18 carbon atoms in the molecule.

It has been discovered further in accordance with the present invention that naphthenic alcohols can be advantageously used instead of or combined with the-fatty alcohols. The naphthenic alcohols may be used either alone or as emulsions in combination with the sulfonates of the fatty alcohols or of the sulfonates of naphthenic alcohols. They have a somewhat difl'erent effect than the fatty alcohols in use. For example, they are according totheir'smaller water repelling properties more easily removable from 55 fibre, that no moistening of the factory rooms i which protects the fibre against mould and other is necessary. Furthermore the naphthenic alcoe hols have on account of their certain amount of sulfur compounds a valuable disinfecting'power,

damages.

A composition consisting of alcohols selected from the above mentioned groups, especially those saturated primary alphatic alcohols having from 12 to 18 carbon atoms or the unsaturated primary aliphatic alcohols having 16 to 22 carbon atoms, combined with sulfonates of the alcohols of the same group provides a particularly effective and valuable treating composition. The proportion of sulfonate may vary over a wide range in accordance with the results desired.

Ordinarily from 0.5 to 75% by weight of sulfonate in the mixture gives a good mixture for acid esters thereof.

usual commercial purposes. About 5% by weight is probably most satisfactory for greasing fibres. If itis desired that the treating material shall remain in the fibrous material only during. the working operations and shall be substantially entirely washed out thereafter, a larger proportion of sulfonate, as for example, about 10% is desirable. If on the other hand it is desired that a substantial proportion of the alcohol shall be retained in the fibrous material after the manufacturing'operations are completed in order to condition the material as, for example, to render it water resistant or to give a soft handle, then a composition having less sulfonate, for-example about 0.5%, will be found more satisfactory.

Mixtures of parafiln oil and oleyl alcohol, wherein the parafiin oil is from 20 to 80% of the mixture to which may be added from 0.5 to of a sulfonate, as for example lauryl sulfate are particularly suitable for greasing purposes. For use an emulsion of the mixture is prepared. These compositions may also be combined with other treating agents toward which they are neutral. Good results are obtained, for example, by using them conjolntly with emulsions of fatty substances, on, waxes, hydrocarbons, mineral oils and the like.

As is well known the paramn used .in treating fibrous material has hydrophilic and slip producing properties and is insoluble in'water. The high molecular alcohols may be described as hydrophilic polar substances. insoluble in water and carrying an alkyl radical having at least 8 carbon atoms and a hydrophilic group. The sulfonates of the hignmolecular alcohols include the true sulfonates and the salts of the sulfuric Compositions containing like baths, because :they are: not decomposed by the acids and alkalies usually used.

The compositions are effective for brightening and sizing of artificial fibres, threads, or fabrics and for the greasing of wool to be worked up into worsted yarn. They are advantageously em- I ployed in the manufacture of artificial threads.

aloohol and a sulfo nate are particularly effective for: use in acid baths such as dyeing, and in mercerizing and the Example 1 For the sizing of artificial silk one may use an aqueous emulsion containing 5% of wool fat alcohol which contains 8% .of the sodium sulfate of oleyl alcohol. The material treated with this emulsion can easily be de-sized by means of water owing to the good emulsive property of the fatty alcohols in connection with the sulfonate used.

Example 2 An avivage bath for artificial silk which will impart a soft and lithe handle to the silk can be prepared by adding to 800 .parts of water 20 par-ts of a concentrated emulsion of 0.75 part of myristyl alcohol, 2.5 parts-of cetyl alcohol and 0.17 part of sodium lauryl sulfonate in 20 parts of water.

Example 3 To soften wool prior to the spinning operation one may employ anaqueous emulsion containing besides 15% of mineral oil and 3% of oleyl alcohol 3-5% of the sodium sulfate of oleyl alcohol. Owing to the presence of the fatty alcohol sulfon ate in combination with the fatty alcohols in the softening emulsion the mineral oil used for greasing is easily removed from the fibre by water.

Example 4 A good loading and finishing composition is obtained by working up 150 parts of dextrine, 80 parts of potato starch, 3 parts of cetyl alcohol, 1 part of oleyl alcohol, 5 parts of a 30% aqueous paste of the sodium salt of oleyl alcohol sulfuric acid ester to an aqueous emulsion together with the desired amount of a loading material such as kaolin, china clay or the like.

Example 5 A finishing composition may also be prepared by emulsifying 150 parts of dextrine. 2 parts of stearyl alcohol and 5 parts of a 30% aqueous oleyl alcohol sulfonate paste per litre of water and adding the desired amount of loading substances such as kaolin, china clay or the like,

Example 6 2% naphthenic alcohol and 0.3 to 0.5% of the sodium salt of the true 'sulfonie acid of myristin alcohol are added to the carbonizing acid usually employed, 1. e., sulfuric acid of about 4 805. By this admixture one obtains a ready and perfectly uniform wetting of the fibres.

Example 7 An impregnating bath for cotton fabrics which will impart a soft handle to the fabrics is obtained by adding 3 parts of naphthenic alcohol and 0.17 part of the sodium salt of the sulfuric acid ester of the naphthenic alcohol to parts of water.

' Example 8 'An excellent avivage effect on wool may be obby impregnating the wool'wlth a solution of 3.5 parts of naphthenic alcohol in 100 parts of trlchlorethylene. After impregnating the wool is squeezed off and the excess of the solvent is removed.

- Example 9 and 5% of the sodium salt of the sulphuric acid ester of the oleyl alcohol. This impregnation can easily be removed after operation.

The foregoing particular description is illustrative merely and is not intended as defining the limits of the invention.

This application is a continuation in part of the applicants copending application, Serial No. 671,010, filed May 13, 1933.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of alcohol of the group consisting of the. primary aliphatic alcohols containing 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule and the naphthenic alcohols with a sulfonate of an alcohol of such group.

2. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of high molecular, primary aliphatic alcohol containing 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate of such an alcohol.

3. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of high molecular primary aliphatic alcohol containing 12 to 18 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate of such an alcohol.

4. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile'fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of naphthenic alcohol with a sulfonate of naphthen- I '10 alcohol.

5. The method'of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of s. The method of treating natural or naphthenic alcohol with a sulfonate of an alco- .9 terial to enhance its fitness for working and to improve the quality thereof which comprises applying thereto naphthenic alcohols and the reaction producis of these alcohols with sulfuric acid.

8. The method of treating natural fibrous material to enhance its fitness for working and to together with par slip producing properties and further being inimprove the quality thereof which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of naphthenic alcohol and a sulfonate of an aliphatic alcohol havin 12 to 18 carbon atoms in the molecule.

9. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of primary aliphatic alcohol containing 18 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate' of primary aliphatic alcohol containing 18 carbon atoms in the molecule.

l0; The method of treating natural or artificial textile fibres or fabric according to claim wherein the weight ofthe sulfonate amounts to about 5 to of the weight of the alcohol.

11. The method of treating natural or artificial textile fibresor fabric according to claim 3, wherein the weight of the sulfonate amounts to about 5 to 10%"01' the weight of the alcohol.

12. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their'quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of primary aliphatic alcohol containing 18 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate of.

primary aliphatic alcohol containing 18 carbon atoms in the molecule together with paraflin having hydrophobic and slip producing properties and further being insoluble in water.

13. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality .which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of alcohol of the group consisting of the primary aliphatic alcohols containing 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule and the naphthenic alcohols with-a sulfonate of an alcohol of such group ailln having hydrophobic and soluble in water. 4

14. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabricsto enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of high molecular primary aliphatic alcohol containing 12 to '18 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate of such an alcohol together with paraffin having hydrophobic and slip producing properties and further being insoluble in water.

15. A new product for increasing the facility of slip of textile material consisting of an emulsion of paraflin, said paraflin having hydrophobic,

and slip producing properties and further being insoluble in water; a. hydrophilic polar substance insoluble in water carrying an alkyl radical having at least 10 carbon atoms and a. hydrophilicgroup; and a hydrophllic water soluble polar compound having emulsifying properties and comprising the salt ofa sulphuric acid ester of 

